The Apple Tree is a short story of the British author Katherine Mansfield who was best known for her short stories. Her stories display sensitivity to emotion by giving attention to the inner conflicts of the characters. Hence, the short story, The Apple Tree, also project these subtle characteristics.
The story begins with the description of the setting. The setting was on a house where two orchards grow. The first orchard was describe by the narrator as “One, that we called the “wild” orchard, lay beyond the vegetable garden; it was planted with bitter cherries and damsons and transparent yellow plums. For some reason, it lay under a cloud; we never play there, or did not even trouble to pick up the fallen fruit.” The other is described as “But the other orchard, far away and hidden from the house, lay at the foot of a little hill and stretched right over to the edge of the paddocks – to the clumps of wattles bobbing yellow in the bright sun and the blue gums with their streaming sickle-shaped leaves.” Though two orchards were mentioned, the story focused on one orchard.
The story continues with the rising action when the narrator’s father found the forbidden tree during an after-dinner prowl one Sunday afternoon. Henceforth, the father was described by the narrator. According to the narrator, his father doesn’t know about the names of fruit trees – “He knew nothing whatever about the names of fruit trees.” The narrator also says that her “Father was a self-made man, and the price he had to pay for everything was so huge and so painful that nothing rang so sweet to him as to hear his purchased praised. He was young and sensitive still. He still wondered whether in the deepest sense he got his money’s worth.” – this means that his father was a hardworking, rich and extremely reflective especially on money matters. The father is also firm, strong and strict as reflected on these lines “Don’t touch that tree! Do you hear me, children!” said he, bland and firm; and when the guest had gone, with quite another voice and manner.’’ And “If I catch either of you touching those apple you shall not only go to bed – you shall each have a good sound whipping!”
The rising action started on the blooming of the apples. When ripened, father, Bogey (narrator’s brother) and the narrator went to it to taste the fruit.
The climax occurred when the children took a bite on the apple, “I kept my eyes on Bogey. Together we took a bite. Our mouth was full of a floury stuff, a hard, faintly bitter skin – a horrible taste of something dry.” This was followed by the denouement. The two stared each other, chewing and swallowing while deciding on what to say to their determined father. “Bogey and I stared at each other, chewing desperately. In that moment of chewing and swallowing a long silent conversation passed between us – and a strange meaning smile. We edged near Father, just touching him.” This resulted to the conclusion that both lied, ““Perfect!” we lied. “Perfect – Father. Simply lovely!”” but their lying was no use for their father already tasted the apple and spat it out of his mouth; decided to never went back to the apple tree again.
For the characterization of Bogey and the narrator, whose name is not mentioned, are good kids to their father. They enjoyed childhood and feared their father as introspected in the story.
The point of view is first person. A narrator is telling his past experiences about an apple tree which anonymously grew inside their property.
The diction of the story is informal. The author used simple, compound and compound-complex sentences: simple – “There were two orchards belonging to the old house.”; compound – “Father spat his out and never went near the apple tree again.”; compound-complex – “And now we played up to him, Bogey and I, Bogey with his scratched kneed pressed together, his hands behind his back, too, and a round cap on his head with the H. M. S. Thunderbolt printed across it.”
Figures of speech were also used by the author. Allusion and metaphor – “The apple tree – like the Virgin Mary – seemed to have been miraculously warned of its high honour, standing apart from its fellows, bending a little under its rich clusters, fluttering its polished leaves, important and exquisite before Father’s awful eye.” The apple tree was compared to the Virgin Mary and the characteristic of her is explained after. Verbal Irony – ““If I catch either of you touching those apple you shall not only go to bed – you shall each have a good sound whipping!” Which merely added to its magnificence.” The narrator is talking about his father warning them not to go to the precious apple tree and he added in the end of the statement that it is magnificent. This contradicts what the father has said. Hence it’s a verbal irony. Hyperbole – “It looked as though the apple had been dipped in wine.” The author exaggerated the description of the apple imagining that is dipped in wine. Repetition – “I knew it, while I took mine humbly and humbly Bogey took his.” The word humbly is repeated twice. Thus, it is repetition.
Imageries cannot be absent in a story. The short story stimulates the visual, gustatory, kinaesthetic and olfactory. Visual – “The apples turned from pale green to yellow, then they have deep pink stripes painted on them, and the pink melted all over the yellow, reddened and spread into a fine clear crimson.” Gustatory – “Our mouth was full of a floury stuff, a hard, faintly bitter skin – a horrible taste of something dry.” Kinaesthetic – “He laid one apple down, opened the pearl pen-knife and neatly and beautifully cut the other to half.” Olfactory – “He put it to his nose and pronounced an unfamiliar word. “Bouquet! What a bouquet!” And then he handed to Bogey one half, to me the other.”
The narrative devices used in the story is flashback. That narrator recalls an experience of his life.
The conflict of the story is ignorance vs. reality. The father considered the apple tree as it is but it is not when they figured out the taste of the fruit is not of an apple. The illusion of considering the fruit an apple contradicts reality of what it really is. This is due to the ignorance of the father to the names and images of the fruit trees.
The tone of the story is humorous. The effect of a child narrating an experience has a great impact to a reader. The author used ironies to create a humorous tone perceived.
Values are important to a story. The values present on the story are obedience, honesty and hard-work. Obedience is reflected on the characters of Bogey and the narrator. They present to us obedient children to their parents. Being obedient to parents are important because parents know the best for their children. Hard-work is also conveyed in the story. This value is reflected to the father. The father is hard-working which resulted to a stable life his family lingers.
The theme of the story is ignorance can blind you from the reality. A man’s unawareness of the reality can lead to misfortune. Hence, man must be aware of the reality in order for him to be informed.
